The Chicago Bears offense has gotten off to solid starts in their first two games this season. But it’s come after that’s been the struggle.
The Bears have scored a touchdown on each of their opening drives against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Last season, they failed to score on their first possession even once.
But the story has been the offense’s failure to use those fast starts as a momentum builder to get and maintain a lead. After the opening touchdown against the Vikings, Chicago didn’t score another offensive touchdown until the final minute of the game. While the Bears did score a touchdown in the second quarter against the Lions to even the score, Chicago’s defense crumbled.
Head coach Ben Johnson was asked about his offense’s early success on those opening, scripted series. While it’s been a nice start to games, it’s the self-inflicted mistakes — pre-snap penalties and struggles running the ball — that have set them back and prevented them from building on that first series.
“I’ve been on both sides of the equation where you start fast and slow down,” Johnson said. “Or, you start slow and you end up heating up. It’s two games in, so I can’t say that we’ve really had a pattern quite yet. I know what it seems like at this point. But, I’m happy with the fact that we’ve been able to score touchdowns on the first drive. We have to find a way to run the ball better early in the game. We have to find a way to not shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties early in the game.
“We have to stay on schedule, not have these third and longs. I think that all is a big part of the equation. We’re not playing consistently clean football as an offense. I think when we do, we’re an explosive team. I think we’ve got significant play makers across the board, but we just haven’t put it together for a consistent basis quite yet.”
Perhaps their luck is changing as the Bears prepare to face a Cowboys defense that has allowed an average of 32 points per game in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and overtime win over the New York Giants. As Chicago prepares to face their former head coach in Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, they’ll be looking to start strong and carry that over into the rest of the game as they look to bring Johnson his first win as head coach.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson discusses Bears’ success on opening drives this season
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
